Kumiko Hamano
| image = | name = | kanji = 浜野久美子 | romaji = Hamano Kumiko | race = Soul | birthday = | age = "33" | gender = Female | height = | weight = | eyes = Hazel | hair = Black | blood type = | affiliation = Inner Circle (loosely) 43rd Sherman Regiment | previous affiliation = | occupation = Captain of the 43rd Sherman Regiment | previous occupation = Sergeant of the 43rd Sherman Regiment | team = | previous team = | partner = Masato Ishiguro | previous partner = Shigure Ishimaru | base of operations = Classified | marital status = Cohabiting (formerly) Single | relatives = Unknown | education = 43rd Sherman Training School | status = Alive | signature skill = Sharpshooting }} Kumiko Hanako, known commonly as her call-sign "Disciple", is a special forces soldier and a member of the Inner Circle's 43rd Sherman Regiment. She is a field commander and serves as part of the backbone for the military leadership. Personality Kumiko often carries herself in a serious and unflappable manner, carrying the conviction and attitude of a military leader. She keeps herself reserved and level-headed at all times, keeping a rational eye on any given situation. She executes her missions with tact and cold precision, mirroring the modus operandi of her mentor and commander. She is a rather strict commander and has low tolerance of failure, but she only gets angry when a novice mistake is made by one of her aides. Otherwise, she regards them all with a professional respect (albeit she is not above mocking or belittling lower-ranked subordinates for the sake of testing resolve). However, there are instances in where she still ends up taking part in the antics of her subordinates with little to no complaint. When dealing with situations outside of military business, Kumiko can prove to be somewhat socially awkward. She holds a certain extent of dismissal for social ethics such as the need for privacy and personal space. It is a common habit for her to flirt with her friends for amusement, regardless of gender or their own attitude towards it. This is particular towards Brina herself, with the latter willingly returning the playful gestures. She is known to get quite close to the line with her jokes, and had even once suggested a threesome between the two and Brina's husband. This behavior can create mixed reactions from others, however. Masato Ishiguro even says his belief of her walking around in public naked "if it weren't for the existence of dirty thoughts". Although this mostly results in humorous situations, Kumiko's social ineptness as well as her professional attitude stems from a darker element from her past. During her days as a Sergeant, she was approached by her Captain Shigure Ishimaru and molested for grieving for lost troopers after a failed mission. Initially seeing confusion and mental instability for his actions against her, she ended up breaking down over daily repetition of the unwanted sexual assaults. However, once he explains to her that he was doing this to make her realize the high chance of losing everything as a soldier, she began to grudgingly accept what he was doing. These "sessions" were enough for her to develop a sense of detachment for ethics and morality to a degree, allowing her to lead with an unbiased and rational line of thinking. However, their changing feelings would turn the sessions into cohabitation, which would contribute to their relationship later on and her attitude after his death. History Little is known of Kumiko's childhood. Sometime in her young adult years, she was conscripted into the 43rd Sherman Regiment and became part of Captain Shigure Ishimaru's personal unit. When she began to demonstrate great effectiveness in combat and mission execution, she was promoted to Sergeant and served as Shigure's right-hand. On one particular mission, she suffered heavy losses and was forced to pull back, consequently failing her objective. The culmination of failure and loss rendered Kumiko sullen and disillusioned. Her attitude angered Shigure to the point of deciding a rather cruel and unusual punishment; he began daily molestation of her person. The irregular pattern in which he did so nearly made her lose respect in him as well as shatter her resolve. However, during one session, he explained to her that in the events of being a member of the 43rd, she must be ready to lose everything dear to her - even her innocence. Slowly, she began to embrace this mentality into her own persona and eventually warmed back up to him, even as the sessions continued. Their willing participation would eventually hurt them both during an assault. Outnumbered and surrounded, the force sent there was slowly annihilated by the enemy. Shigure himself was killed, and Kumiko was one of the few who managed to stay alive when reinforcements came. His death would scar her deeply for the rest of her days, although she never talked about it to even the likes of her squad. Synopsis *The War of Four: The Eye of the Storm *The War of Four: Recollection *The War of Four: Crossing the Wire Powers & Abilities Master Marksmanship Specialist: As standard for 43rd troops, Kumiko is highly skilled with the use of Kidō firearms. She is capable of leading targets, making accurate judgements in distance for bolts travel and requiring only an instant to aim and fire. Because the sniper rifle is her main weapon, she can pose a severe threat to any foot mobile within her sight. In the event that she requires to use her side-arm, she can draw it quickly in exchange for her sniper rifle in order to take down targets too close to her. Her skill can allow her to hold against an empowered being individually for a certain period of time before she is overwhelmed. Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: As standard for troops of the 43rd, Kumiko possesses high proficiency in the art of barehanded combat. Her style is a mixture of fighting techniques from arts such as Krav Maga and Jujitsu. Her moves are meant to disable, incapacitate, and take a target down quickly before they have a chance to react. She is able to take down an empowered being within seconds if they get too close to her. Master Strategist & Tactician: Being a field commander, Kumiko is a capable thinker and planner. Squads personally led under her have reported any casualties that occur being in the one-digit numbers - a testament to her tactical prowess. She can analyze the enemy's movements and formulate attacks, defense, and counter-attacks with quick precision. Trivia References Category:Female Category:Inner Circle Category:Antagonists Category:Souls